MOLINE, Ill. — With a growing cannabis market in Illinois, more workers are needed to fill the demand.
Cannabis sales in Illinois reached $1 billion dollars for 2024 on July 1, which is earlier than any previous year since sales were legalized in the Prairie State.
Black Hawk College in Moline recently partnered with Green Flower, a cannabis educator operating throughout the United States, to teach interested students the growing cannabis business.
"The Illinois Market in particular is growing pretty significantly," Green Flower's Chief Growth Officer Daniel Kalef said. "There's great demand for better trained employees in all three areas of the industry—retail, manufacturing and cultivation. On the cultivation side, I think a lot of people think if you can grow a good tomato plant in your backyard you can probably grow cannabis, and that's not the case. We get to the technical side of helping them understand strains and seeds, germination, flowering cycle, processing, harvesting, and getting it ready to go to manufacturing".
"Through our partnership with Green Flower, we offer three certificates that enable our students to be knowledgeable, skilled in this industry" Black Hawk College Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development Dr. Richard Bush said. "The first one is the cannabis retail specialist, the second one is the cannabis extraction and production development specialist, and the third one is the cannabis cultivation specialist".
With sales being so high statewide, someone needs the handle the demand.
"It's a huge industry right now in the state of Illinois," Bush said. "It generates over $1 billion a year. The need for qualified and knowledgeable, skilled workforce in this industry, as well as other industries is essential".
"This industry hires from within like no other," Kalef said. "So if you do a good job and you know what you're doing, you're going to get promoted really quickly".
"Growing sales in 2024 means cannabis tax revenue will continue to play a major role in righting decades of wrongs in the state’s criminal justice system," Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in early July.
The nine-week, fully online classes start on Monday, Aug. 5 and costs $750 to enroll. You do not need to be admitted to Black Hawk or be a current student to enroll. Right now, officials say a $100 discount is being offered to those who sign up for the classes by next week. To register, visit here.